Playboy Double Corona by Don Diego Review

[Nurse_Maduro]

Playboy by Don Diego Double Corona

• Size: 6.00 x 52

• Origin: Dominican Republic

• Wrapper: Connecticut

• Filler: Dominican Republic

• Binder: Dominican Republic

• Average Price Paid: $5.80

Appearance: 7
Construction: 9
Flavor: 7
Value: 7
Overall Experience: 7


The Review: It's been days since the first snow fell on the porch that served as my smoking area all summer. Now, thick white snow – the packing kind, not the fluffy kind - covers my chairs, I can see my breath before I even light up, and my sticks just can't breathe on the thin, cold air; they're constantly struggling for life during the smoke. What to do? Why, do what any desperate smoker who is moving in a week would do – break the lease and go inside!

Let's see...the girlfriend is at work, and I really need to pack up the bedroom anyway, so what better place to crack a window and enjoy a great stick while working? And of course, have a strategically placed fan to push the smoke where it's supposed to go, instead of all over the walls and bed linens. A man remains innocent until proven guilty, after all.

The Playboy Double Corona by Don Diego is one I have never smoked before and, in the spirit of the adventure, is my selection for this particular day. A well-constructed, good sized smoke with a triple cap and minimal veining noted, it calls to me with a light brown Connecticut wrapper that has no visible oily sheen, but is definitely not dry. There is an odd, 1/2” long green discoloration at the foot that is not explainable by mold or plume; it looks like ink. The rest of it looks too good to ignore however, so I shrug it off.



My drink of choice, as it's a little early in the day for anything heavier, is a bottled water, and I flip Michael Moore's The Awful Truth on the portable DVD player for background noise.

Picking it up, the stick feels firm, but not spongy, and this remains the case throughout the entire length. The band is already loose, and I can slide it up and off if I want (I don't). I'm a bit worried by the slight smell of hay, but I make an easy V-cut and take an especially easy pre-light draw that raises my hopes.



Breaking out my trusty double-jet butane lighter (that goes through all its fuel in about two sticks), I toast the foot and am very pleased as tons of beautiful, thick, white smoke begins pouring off. The draw is silky smooth, and it has a rich, creamy flavor at the start.



The second third of the stick adds a bit of spice that remains constant until the final draw. While I did have to relight for the last third (not because of the pace at which I was smoking, so I'm not quite sure what happened), the Playboy stayed as steady as Michael Moore's ability to piss people off. I also noted that this had the strongest, most well-constructed cap I've ever had the pleasure of drawing from. While I'm not a chewer or drooler, most of my sticks end up looking like a piece of melba the baby's been gnawing on for a half hour. Not so the Playboy – the cap was virtually the same as when I first made the clip.







Final thoughts: I'm not typically a mild cigar smoker; I tend toward heavier, spicier flavors, but I would be more than happy to light this one up again. This double corona had an even burn and draw that never wavered, and the flavor was right there for the entire length of the stick. Odd product pairing aside ("What are you smoking?" "Erm...a..um....Playboy."), this is what the cigar smoking experience should be: sight, smell, touch, taste – it was all there. Needless to say, I nubbed this one.



Oh, and my girlfriend walks in: "You've been smoking a cigar in here, haven't you?!?"

Guilty, as charged.

[madurolover]

Nice review Nurse Ratchet... ummm I mean Nurse - Maduro

[gary106334]

Nice review.

[dwhitacre]

Nice review!!! Great pictures!!! I thought this was the other Playboy!!!

[Darrell]

This is just a little green on the wrapper, nothing to worry about. It's fairly common amongst lighter wrappers, I think it's something with the curing/peparation process and this portion of the wrapper does not cure (for lack of better term) the same as the rest of the leaf.

[madurolover]

Originally Posted by Darrell

This is just a little green on the wrapper, nothing to worry about. It's fairly common amongst lighter wrappers, I think it's something with the curing/peparation process and this portion of the wrapper does not cure (for lack of better term) the same as the rest of the leaf.

Or water that dried on it during curing.

[Darrell]

Originally Posted by madurolover

Or water that dried on it during curing.

Yep, forgot about water.

[Nurse_Maduro]

Originally Posted by madurolover

Or water that dried on it during curing.

Thanks guys! Most of my sticks are maddies or oscuro, so I don't have as much experience with the lighter wrappers. Very cool to know that that could be the original color of the leaf.

And thanks for the compliment, everyone. I think this will be my format for all my reviews; I just need to get the pic file size down so the site doesn't reduce the physical size so much. Maybe I'll do that right now...it's 4am, but my body thinks it's 5.